A Chance Encounter (Chapter 5 - FINAL)

“You on the train?” Katsuki asked, the moment Izuku picked up.

“Not yet! Why, what’s up?”

“I want you to see this place,” Katsuki explained, flipping his camera round to show off a white hallway. “They said it was okay to walk you through like this.”

“Ooh! You found somewhere that meets the Kacchan standards?”

“I think so.”

“Let me see!”

Izuku giggled when a real estate agent bowed to the camera, raising one hand in a little wave.

“Hello!” he called. “It’s nice to meet you!”

“This is the entryway, obviously,” Katsuki explained, panning side to side to show him a few doors on either side. “Where do you wanna go first?”

“Right!”

“Congrats, you picked a toilet.”

Katsuki chuckled as he pulled open the door, showing Izuku a clean, white room, only a dark cupboard below the sink and a matching ledge to store things on breaking up the brightness. He didn’t bother lingering on the room, though, turning around and pointing ahead at the door opposite.

“This is bedroom number one, probably the guest room. It’s slightly bigger but has a much smaller closet.”

“Show me!”

The floors were dark, shiny wood, just like the rest of the apartment, and Katsuki panned slowly around to show him the size.

“I think we could fit a double bed in here pretty easily,” Katsuki narrated, making sure his hand was in frame as he pointed. “I thought maybe we could get one of those storage benches or something and put it in this end for our workout gear, so we can just close it up if people come to stay.”

“I like that idea!”

“Alright, next. There’s a closet here with a decent chunk of space, and this next door is the bathroom. There’s space for a laundry machine, plus a smaller cupboard here that maybe we can use for towels and keep the other one for general storage and cleaning supplies and stuff?”

“How big is the bath?”

“Not huge, but decent,” Katsuki continued, pushing open the next door to show him the tub. “Lots of shower space here too, I always like that.”

“Looks good! Where to next? Kitchen?”

“Ah, living room first, gotta go through to the kitchen.”

“Okay!”

The living room was a little narrower than Katsuki would have liked, but long enough to give them some separation from the kitchen, which he thought was a good compromise. There was even a little nook in one end, with a small cupboard and some shelves built in, where he figured they could put up their favourite pieces of merch – old All Might figures, he suspected.

“And here’s the kitchen,” he continued, turning around to show it. “No weird blue.”

“It’s pretty! And spacious!”

“Yeah, I won’t trip over your ass when I’m cooking.”

“We’ll need a dining table though, there’s no counter to eat at.”

“I always eat in the living room anyway.”

“Me too,” Izuku admitted. “Okay, no table.”

“This is my favourite part, you ready?”

“Yeah!”

Katsuki pulled out a drawer, and he heard a gasp from his screen.

“Dishwasher!” Izuku gushed, bringing his phone closer to his face to look at it. “Oh man, that’s gonna save us so much time!”

“Yeah,” Katsuki laughed. “Thought you’d like it. Ready for the last stop?”

“Our room?”

“Our room,” Katsuki confirmed. “Unless you don’t want to share.”

“You know I do, Kacchan. I can’t wait to have cuddles with you every night.”

“It’s off the living room here, look at this closet.”

He slid open the doors on a storage space big enough to stand inside of and close the doors, still left with a comfortable space around him. If Izuku had been there, Katsuki was pretty sure he’d have done exactly that.

“It’s huge!” Izuku marvelled. “I’m gonna have to buy more clothes.”

“You’ll be sharing with me, remember?”

“You’ll just take all mine anyway.”

Katsuki glanced down at the forest green hoodie he was wearing as they spoke, loaned to him over six months ago and never returned.

“Shut up,” he huffed, when the pause grew too long. “Anyway, the door to the balcony is down that end of the room, so our bed probably needs to go along this wall here? That’s the only problem with this room, doors on three sides. We could use it as spare living room space instead, either squeeze a bed in or throw a futon in the big closet, but I’m not sure the closet in the other room is big enough for both of us.”

“It could be nice to have a bigger living space,” Izuku agreed. “Our workout gear would fit in that big closet, too. But we’ll figure all that out when we move in.”

“You want me to go ahead, then?”

“Yeah, if you like it!”

Katsuki flipped his camera back around to show his face, smiling faintly when Izuku lit up, always so excited to see his face. He stepped out onto the balcony, looking out over a brand-new view of the city, and turned to lean against the handrail. The view framed him perfectly, and he caught Izuku’s eyes wandering out over the buildings, smirking at the screen.

“Eyes on me, nerd, you don’t want to look at me?”

“Don’t be mean,” Izuku laughed. “You know I do! Kacchan is so handsome.”

“You should probably get on that train so you can see me for real.”

“I will! I’ve just finished loading up my suitcase, I’ll be on my way soon. I’m looking forward to sleeping in a nice bed!”

“I told you you were an idiot for selling your bed so early.”

“It made life so much easier, though! And now I get to return to a comfy bed with a Kacchan in my arms, it’s perfect.”

“Alright,” Katsuki sighed. “I’ll go sign some paperwork, then. Let me know when you’re on the train so I can come and meet you.”

“I know the way now, Kacchan,” Izuku giggled. “I’ve been there, like, six times now!”

“I didn’t say you didn’t know the way,” Katsuki grumbled, looking away from the screen for a moment to compose himself. “I just said I’ll come meet you.”

“That’s sweet of you, Kacchan,” Izuku smiled knowingly. “I’ll let you know.”

“Alright. Any requests for dinner? I’ll have it ready when we get back.”

“Katsudon?”

“Should’ve known. Yeah, I can do that. Alright, go away, then. Let me get back to apartment stuff and dinner stuff.”

“Okay!” Izuku raised his hand to his lips, blowing a kiss at the screen. “See you in a few hours, Kacchan! Love you!”

“Love you too,” Katsuki sighed, waving as he shifted his thumb to the disconnect button. “Hurry up.”

With his screen gone dark, he stepped back into the apartment, nodding when the agent looked up at him hopefully.

“Yeah, he likes it too. You got paperwork there?”

“I do! I’m glad you like it, as soon as I saw it, I thought it was perfect for you.”

“Yeah,” he nodded. “Thanks.”

He ticked a few boxes and signed a few lines, handing the papers back and feeling a strange sense of disbelief wash through him – it was really happening, he was renting a new apartment with his boyfriend, his best friend since they were just toddlers. He’d been worried it was too fast, when he suggested sharing an apartment, but Izuku had leapt in with equal enthusiasm, already planning their days of domestic bliss.

And hey, without the pressure of Tokyo’s hero over-population, maybe he and Izuku would be able to climb even higher in the ranks, too. Maybe they could finally dethrone Hawks, if they did enough work in places that desperately needed them.

And either way, they’d at least be doing it together.

─────

Izuku ditched his suitcase the moment he got close enough for a hug, lifting Katsuki off the ground and spinning him around like he was half the size he really was. A few nosey people stopped to stare, and Katsuki suspected they were about to end up on the front page of the local newspaper.

“I missed you too,” he grunted, when Izuku finally set him back down. “Come on, dinner’s ready.”

“Coming!”

Katsuki snatched the battered old suitcase before Izuku could reach for it, daring Izuku to protest with his glare. Thankfully, Izuku just laughed, sidling up beside him to take his free hand and link their fingers together comfortably. It had started as such an innocent gesture, the first time, but now it was something Izuku couldn’t stand to be without.

“What would you do if I decided I wanted to have sex?” Katsuki asked, when the crowds thinned out outside the station. “If we’re living together I can’t just jerk off and be done with it.”

“You could,” Izuku shrugged. “Or I could do it for you, or we could... Try stuff out. I don’t mind occasionally, as long as it’s with you.”

“Yeah?”

“You know it doesn’t make you any less Ace, right? If you have... You know, urges? It’s a physical thing, it happens.”

“I know.”

“What about you? What will you say if I want to?”

“I’ll throw you a bottle of lube and cover my head with a pillow.”

Izuku laughed brightly, and Katsuki couldn’t help but smile back, squeezing his hand lightly.

“We can try stuff,” he agreed. “If we both want to, or whatever.”

“Sounds good,” Izuku nodded. “No big deal, right?”

“Nah, the real problem is deciding who gets to put their All Might figures in the best spots.”

“That depends who has the best figures! I wanna put my Kacchan figure up, too.”

“Fine, then I’m putting I’m my Deku figure.”

Izuku gasped, and Katsuki rolled his eyes when the shining face looked down at him.

“You have one?!”

“Maybe,” Katsuki grumbled, walking a little faster. “Shut up.”

“I love you, Kacchan!”

“Love you too, nerd.”

They made their way up to the apartment, the smell of katsudon meeting them at the door, and Izuku practically drooled all over the floors.

“Just let me heat it up,” Katsuki instructed, letting go of his hand and dropping his suitcase at his feet. “You go stick your stuff in the bedroom.”

“Got it!” Izuku agreed, scooping up his bag. “Thanks, Kacchan!”

“Whatever.”

Despite his words, he lingered in the doorway for a moment as Izuku moved, cracking a smile when he heard the excited little squeak from within.

“Kacchan!” he called, his voice so full of joy. “You set up my stuff?!”

“Well I wasn’t sure how long it would take to get a new place, thought we might be here a while.”

“It looks so good!”

He picked up one of the familiar pillows from the bed, hugging it to his chest when he returned to the doorway, and Katsuki just watched fondly as he rubbed his cheek on it.

“Now it even smells like Kacchan,” he hummed. “You made my pride pillows even better.”

“Creep.”

“You know it.”

Katsuki finally turned the stove on, reheating the food he’d been working on before the train arrived, and soon Izuku was sitting on his sofa, waiting patiently for the bowl Katsuki set in his hands. He didn’t bother waiting for Katsuki to sit, just got stuck in right away, and Katsuki decided not to tease him about it just this once. It was a day of celebration, after all. They were finally living together, after six long months that felt like years of long-distance, and soon they would have a fancy new apartment together to boot.

“I’m glad you’re here,” he said quietly, as he scooped up some rice to take a mouthful. “I uh, I missed you.”

“I missed you too,” Izuku beamed. “Thanks for having me, Kacchan.”

“Who would’ve thought this would all come from a bag of frozen pork?” Katsuki snorted. “What a big, dumb chain of events we fell into.”

“Oh please, Kacchan, that chain of events started the moment we met.”

“You’re probably right,” Katsuki huffed, taking a moment to chew his food. “It’s been kind of a mess, huh?”

“A perfect mess that led us here.”

“Yeah. That’s a pretty good description of us in general.”

“A perfect mess?” Izuku giggled. “You’re not wrong.”

Katsuki glanced down at his wrist, and the slightly-worn bracelet that was still holding on, letting his eyes slowly trail up to his hand, his callused fingers.

“Do you think they make pride-themed engagement rings?” he asked quietly.

“Don’t worry, Kacchan, I’m already on it.”